Bride for Matthew

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “Well, we’ll do our best to keep you going.” Sinead made sure Claire drank every drop of the tea and took the packet she’d given her earlier when she left. “Come see me tomorrow, so I know how it’s helping.”

  Claire smiled and waved as she hurried off toward her own house.

  As soon as she was gone, Miss Hazel declared the chicken had boiled long enough, and Sinead was dragged back into the cooking she so detested. She wanted to be a better cook for her husband, but she didn’t care to learn about cooking. It was a strange position to be in.

  As soon as supper was cooked, Miss Hazel took a small bite and nodded. “These are fabulous for your first attempt at dumplings.”

  “Should we take some to Matt and Easton then?”

  “No idea. You and Molly should work out who takes supper on which day. Then neither of you will have to run up there every night.”

  “Or Molly could do it every night, and I could make my curtains…”

  “You’re not going to get out of cooking, Sinead. I don’t care how much you hate it. As a wife, you’ll need to be able to provide meals for your husband. What about when the children come along?”

  Sinead shrugged. “I’ll hope they have his skin tone.”

  “Sinead Montgomery! You have got to be the most exasperating bride I have ever matched to a Mountie.”

  “Really? I win?”

  “I’m not sure I’d call it winning.” Miss Hazel sighed heavily. “I really am not sure what to do with you!”

  “Walk with me to the Mountie office, and we’ll see if the men have been fed.”

  “They can always get food from the saloon too.”

  “The saloon? Really? They serve food there?”

  Miss Hazel nodded. “Yeah, Sam runs it and she serves food. I’m sure Matthew likes to see you in the middle of his work day, so he’s not going to complain if you bring him supper, though.”

  “I’ll do that.” But she might not again. Miss Hazel had to leave and quit watching her for bad wifely behaviors sometime, didn’t she?

  Sinead put a lid on the pot that held the chicken and dumplings, and picked it up by the handle. Miss Hazel took bowls and spoons as well as a ladle. They walked through the streets carrying supper for the men. “I sure hope no one attacks us, because I’m not sure I can reach my gun with this in my hand.”

  “I can’t believe Matthew taught you to use a gun anyway. Are doctors really supposed to be shooting at people.”

  “Only if they get shot at first.” Sinead refused to worry about anyone hurting her. She was doing what was best for the town, and she was certain everyone realized that. The young mother whose son she’d helped the day before waved to her, and Sinead smiled and nodded at her. She was starting to recognize people on the streets in Cougar Springs, and she loved that they were recognizing her as the doctor in town.

  When she reached the Mountie office, she opened the door to find Matthew and Easton both bowed over a man who had a bullet in his shoulder. She set the pot down and rushed over, opening her medical bag. “Move over, Matthew. Let me see!” She didn’t wait for her husband to move, and instead pushed him out of the way. “Hold a lantern over the wound. I can’t see it very well.”

  The man lying on the desk gasped. “Why would you help me?”

  She realized then it was the man who had been in her cabin the night before. “It’s my job,” was all she said as she took out a scalpel and antiseptic. She poured the antiseptic over the wound, fighting a smile at the man’s howl of pain. Why did it feel good to cause pain sometimes?

  She immediately went to work digging the bullet out of his shoulder, then dropped the offending object onto the chair. “There. It’s gone.” While she stitched and bandaged his shoulder, she questioned him. “Why didn’t you go to Dr. Jenkins for help? Or go sit in the hot springs? Wouldn’t the springs have magically cured your wound for you?”

  Matthew shook his head at her. “Now isn’t the time, Sinead.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him, but tied off the bandage in a tight knot behind his shoulder. “There. Keep it clean. If you have problems with it, come see me.”

  The man, Mr. Jones, she thought he’d said his name was, nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Who shot you?” She knew Matthew didn’t want her asking any more questions, but she couldn’t resist just the one.

  “Jenkins.” Nothing more was said, but Sinead looked at Matthew with wide eyes.

  After the man had left, Matthew carefully cleaned off Easton’s desk while the man shook his head. “It’s going to take me a long time to make it perfect again.”

  “You’re not doing it until after we have supper anyway,” Miss Hazel inserted. She’d been quiet through the bullet removal, and Sinead had almost forgotten she was there.

  Easton sighed. “What are we having?”

  “Chicken and dumplings. Miss Hazel made me learn to make them myself.”

  Matthew grinned. “Did it hurt to have to cook?”

  Sinead wrinkled her nose at him. “I just removed a bullet from that man. Why should I cook?”

  “I could have removed the bullet, you know.”

  “Really?”

  “I’d probably have caused him more pain and taken three times as long, but I could have done it.”

  She ladled food into a bowl for him and then one for Easton. “Well, it’s probably best that I came along then, isn’t it?”

  “Probably.” Matthew leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I’m glad you didn’t die today.”

  Sinead grinned. “It wasn’t in my plans, so I didn’t do it. I told you I don’t plan to die anytime soon.”

  He shook his head. “Let’s make sure your plans are in line with Jenkins’s plans, okay?”

  “I’ll do my best.” She gave Miss Hazel a bowl of the chicken and dumplings before serving her own and sitting down. “Molly doesn’t bring supper?” Sinead asked Easton.

  “Not yet.” Easton didn’t add to his response, making Sinead wonder if everything was all right between her friend and her husband. It was none of her business though, so she didn’t ask.

  “We bought fabric for curtains and a tablecloth today,” Sinead told Matthew.

  “Can you sew?” he asked, looking surprised.

  “You just saw me stitch up that man’s shoulder. Of course, I can sew!”

  Matthew grinned. “I was asking if you could sew things other than human flesh.”

  “I’ve been known to.” Sinead took a bite of the dumplings, surprised that they really did taste good. She’d paid enough attention to Miss Hazel that she might just be able to duplicate this meal. Maybe cooking wasn’t terrible if she was doing it for someone she loved.

  Sinead blinked a few times, realizing that everyone had gone on talking around her, but she couldn’t hear them. Love? She couldn’t possibly love Matthew. She’d only known him a few days. She looked at him, studying the way his dark hair fell over his forehead. Why did she ache to push it away?

  She loved him. How, she didn’t know, but it was true. It probably wouldn’t affect the way she acted at all, but knowing she loved him…it came as a shock. She’d never expected to fall in love with the man she’d come out to marry.

  “Sinead?” Matthew asked, frowning at her. “Are you even paying attention?”

  “No, I’m not. What did you say?”

  Matthew sighed. “I was wondering if you noticed anything suspicious on your way over here. I’m a little worried about you bringing supper every night, because I’m afraid people will expect you to come around the same time. It might be best if you didn’t do it tomorrow.”

  “I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

  Matthew stared at her in shock. Sinead was never agreeable to his plans. She did things her own way, and that was that. “Are you feeling all right?”

  Sinead shrugged, not meeting his eyes. How could she? “I’m fine. Just sleepy.”

  “You should go home and go to bed then.” He frowned
. “No, you really can’t, because I’ll need to walk Miss Hazel home, and I’m not leaving you alone. You’ll have to stay awake until my shift is over.”

  “All right.”

  Had she just agreed with him again? Surely she must have the plague to be acting so out of character. What was wrong with her? “Do I need to take you to a doctor?”

  “No, I’m fine. I promise.” She took another bite of her dumplings. “I’ll stay awake until you get home. Maybe Miss Hazel will help me make the curtains after we get the dishes done.”

  Miss Hazel nodded, looking a little worried herself. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “I’m positive. You’re acting like I’ve never been agreeable a day in my life. I assure you, I have.” Sinead hated that they were noticing her strange behavior. She didn’t want Matthew to know she had feelings for him, or he’d send her off on a train back east, expecting her to obey him, just because she was in love with him. Well, it wasn’t happening.

  “Does that mean you’ll start doing what I say?” Matthew asked.

  Sinead laughed softly. “You’re dreaming now, aren’t you, Matthew?”

  He sighed. “I’m sure I am. I should know better than expecting something like that from you.”

  “Yes, you probably should.”

  “I have one question for you…”

  “What’s that?” Matthew asked.

  “Why didn’t you arrest Dr. Jenkins?” Sinead couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t have been arrested.

  “Because he has witnesses saying he was somewhere else. We can’t arrest him without proof.” Matthew shrugged. “It makes me crazy, because we all know he did it, but he has six people saying he didn’t.”

  “So he’ll get away with it?”

  “Not necessarily. I hope not anyway.”

  Chapter Eight

  Once Matthew had left for work the next day, Miss Hazel once again came to spend the day with her. “I feel like you’re here to watch over me,” Sinead protested.

  Miss Hazel shrugged. “I’m here to make sure everything is all right. And I’m going to teach you to cook a couple of more meals.”

  Sinead groaned. “I can cook four meals now. It won’t be pancakes for every meal.”

  “Just stop complaining and let me teach you.”

  “I guess.” Together they worked on making a stew, and Sinead remembered much of what Matthew had shown her when they’d made stew together. She didn’t need much help with the meal.

  Once the stew was on the stove…well…stewing, there was a knock on the door. Sinead hurried over to see who it was, looking out the window before opening the door, because Matthew had made her promise she would. She was tired of his constant nagging of her to be careful, but she wasn’t sure how to get him to be calmer.

  Once she saw who it was, she threw the door open. “Beth! How are you?”

  “I’m having some health issues, which is why I came to see you,” Beth said as if she’d rehearsed the words.

  Sinead looked at her friend for a moment. “What sort of health issues?”

  “There are three things. The first is this hang nail.”

  “You came to see me for a hang nail?”

  “A hang nail and two other things.” Beth extended her hand and showed her friend a hangnail on her index finger. “It hurts when I soak it in hot water to do the dishes.”

  “All right. Let me take a look at it.” Sinead couldn’t believe her friend was there for something so simple, but she could certainly deal with it. Once she was done, she asked, “What next?”

  “I have a sore throat.”

  That was more along the lines of something Sinead thought someone should see a doctor for. She opened her medical bag to get a tongue depressor, and had Beth open her mouth. “Let me see!” Her throat wasn’t even a little bit red, but Sinead wasn’t terribly surprised by that after the hang nail. “Drink some warm salt water.”

  “I will!”

  “What’s the third thing you came for?”

  Beth seemed to be thinking for a moment, and finally blurted out, “I twisted my ankle on the way here. I think it might be sprained.

  Sinead squatted down to look at her friend’s ankle, turning it first one way and then the other. “Does that hurt?”

  Beth shook her head. “Not too much.”

  Sinead shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”

  “All right.” Beth looked around the cabin, as if she was searching for something else to do. “Do you want help with the sewing you’re doing?”

  Sinead looked at Beth for a moment, before finally asking, “Beth, did Samuel ask you to come here and keep me occupied so I wouldn’t leave the house and cause trouble?”

  Beth immediately blushed, looking guilty. “He said that it could mean the difference between life and death for you.” She sighed. “I didn’t know how to get you to stay without medical questions. Samuel won’t be happy that I lied, but I didn’t know what else to do! Samuel should have been a minister. You can see it in him!”

  “We won’t tell Samuel about the lie, but I’ll be having a nice long talk with my husband about him sending you here.”

  “Don’t be angry with me, Sinead.” Beth caught Sinead’s hand in hers. “I didn’t want to deceive you, but when they said you might die if I didn’t, I thought it was my duty as your friend.”

  “I’m not angry with you,” Sinead answered, smiling at Beth. “I’m angry with my husband for thinking he could use deception to keep me at home, just because he doesn’t want me to leave.” How could she possibly be in love with a man who would be so sneaky and underhanded?

  “Why does everyone want to keep you at home? I don’t understand what’s going on!”

  Miss Hazel walked over and sat beside Beth. “Sinead went to the health institute the day before yesterday, and she had a talk with the doctor that runs the place. She told him he was a swindler, and she didn’t believe he was really a doctor.”

  Beth put her hand over her mouth. Sinead wasn’t certain if it was in shock or to hide a laugh. “You didn’t!”

  “Oh, I did. It’s the truth. He’s a snake-oil salesman! He sells a tonic that’s almost pure whiskey and claims that it will cure everything that ails you. And then he tells people to get in the hot springs, and that will cure them of everything. Why they need two things that will cure everything, and not just one baffled me for a moment, and then I realized it was so he could charge them for both! The man is a swindler, pure and simple.”

  “It sounds like he is, but isn’t it dangerous to tell a man that?”

  Sinead shrugged. “I felt like I had to for the good of the people of Cougar Springs. It’s my job as a doctor to expose a man who pretends to be a medical professional.”

  “I suppose.” Beth looked unsure of herself. “The men seem to think there’s safety in numbers, and it’s best if I’m here with the two of you. Do you mind if I spend the day?”

  “No, I don’t mind.” Sinead did mind though. She liked Beth, and she didn’t mind her being there, but she didn’t like the underhanded way the men had told her to pretend to be ill. Of course, Beth had been so bad at deception a baby would have seen through her.

  “Oh, good. I’d like to help with your sewing project, then.”

  The three of them spent the afternoon sewing together. It was a pleasant day for all of them. When Claire came to the door, Sinead simply opened it wide. “Are your headaches real?”

  Claire looked at Sinead as if she’d lost her mind. “Why would I pretend to have a headache when I didn’t? I wish they weren’t real!”

  Sinead shrugged. “Beth came over with a lot of fake ailments today, and I found out that she was sent here by her husband.”

  “Oh!” Claire shook her head. “That must be why Nathaniel asked me if I was feeling sick. He said if I could think of any reason to come to you, I should.”

  Sinead looked over at Miss Hazel. “It looks like all the Mounties were
in on it, doesn’t it?”

  “Sure does,” Miss Hazel replied, her eyes sparkling with laughter. “Claire, come sit with us and sew.”

  Claire moved to obey, but Sinead put her hand on her arm to stop her. “First tell me how you’re feeling today. Did the powder help?”

  “It seemed to have. The headache is completely gone.”

  “I’m glad. Now go sew.”

  While they were all working, there was another knock at the door. “This place is busier than the train station!” Sinead complained as she went to the door. Truthfully, she loved having the company of the other women. She was not meant to stay at home alone all day. She needed the companionship of others.

  When she opened the door, she saw a man being held up by two others. He didn’t have a visible wound that she could see, so she invited them in. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “He got kicked in the head by his horse. Dr. Jenkins said to take him to the springs, but we don’t think he could sit up.”

  Sinead bit her tongue. She wanted to give the men a good tongue lashing for even talking to Dr. Jenkins, but she had to acknowledge that he’d been the only “medical” man around for a long time. “Put him on the bed. Face down.” She wanted to be able to see his wound.

  Once the men had complied, she rushed over and looked at the bloody mess on the back of his head. Some of the blood was dark and crusted. “How long ago was he injured?”

  “Bout an hour, I’d guess,” the taller man said. “We found him on the ground.”

  “Next time you find someone injured, please bring him straight to me. Dr. Jenkins has no idea what he’s doing.” Sinead heated some water to sterilize it. “Does he have a wife?”

  “Sure,” said the same man. “Want me to fetch her?”

  “That might be a good idea.” Sinead wondered if the men had any brains at all. Why would they carry the man through town without first summoning his wife? She would need to be at his side.

  Once the water was hot, she got some strips of cloth and carefully cleaned his wound. She was happy to see that there was a great deal more blood than wound. Once it was clean, she carefully put four stitches in, tying off the last one. Then she wrapped cloth around his head to bandage it.